I hope and trust you are well and having a blessed holiday season. As I’m sure is true for many, the years just seem to blink by quicker and quicker each year — and this year was no exception.

Our little Gracie isn’t so little anymore now that she’s 11 and in 6th grade/middle school. Isabel turned 9 in November and is in 3rd grade, while Michael — the kid who calls his mom “babe” — started 1st grade and will turn 7 in March. All three kids are competitively swimming year round, fantastic skiers, and did their first Montclair triathlon this year (yep, all 3). Grace and Isabel are quite the vocalists and are regulars at the brewery’s Karaoke nights (the stars of the show, for sure).

Speaking of the brewery (www.brewrepublic.beer), Amy and I now dedicate our full time efforts to being in the beer business. Our taproom always has something going on, and our distro (bar/restaurant/grocery store) sales are booming. Come visit us sometime! With all the demands of a growing small business, our travel was a bit more limited this year than in years past, so we spent much of our spare time on the lake — which was pretty convenient since we live on a lake.

Between 3 active kids and Brew Republic, there’s not much room left for politics (or much else for that matter). Notwithstanding, we stay engaged here and there. Amy helped manage inauguration events at the beginning of the year, and we brewed limited edition beer for the inaugural committee*, which was pretty cool — then we later did a private tasting at the White House (even cooler).

We’re looking forward to a quiet Christmas this year at home. I canceled our annual trip to Charleston for New Year’s, so hopefully the downtime will be a nice break as we prepare for what promises to be a busy year ahead. And, as we again reflect on the past year and the incredible blessing that His birth is on our lives, we are grateful for the gift you have provided us in your friendship over the years and for allowing us to share our lives with you.

May God bless you with a joyful holiday season and a prosperous, healthy year ahead.

-JMF

P.S. We were a bit behind the curve this year on the Christmas cards. They are on the way, but in case you don’t get one in your postal mail box, you can find an electronic copy of the 2017 edition below.

P.P.S. Keep up with us on Facebook (me) or on Instagram (Amy). Friend us if you haven’t already!

* We still have some bottles left for sale in the taproom if you’re interested.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! And, yes, it’s officially Christmas at this point.

We’re running a bit behind this year, and you probably won’t read this until after Christmas (although there are twelve days of Christmas), but better late than never, right? It has been a crazy 2016 for the Frederick family, and in many ways, a year we’d rather forget. Nevertheless, we had no shortage of activity over the last year.

Of course, the biggest news is that we finally got the brewery up and running. Having intended to open in 2015, and then in spring of 2016, Brew Republic Bierwerks opened for business in late September 2016, and the reviews have been great ever since. Stop by the taproom to say hello and have a beer. You won’t be disappointed. #ToTheRepublic #ANewNationOfBeer

Amy finished her work with Carly’s campaign in the spring and started taking on various political and event planning clients. Now, in addition to her work with the brewery, she’s consulting for the PIC (Presidential Inaugural Committee). The brewery takes up the bulk of my time as we ramp up distribution and plan for our next location – but I also keep my toes in the tech/public affairs business as well as continuing to manage our real estate asset stuff.

The kids, well, they’re growing. Grace (10) transitioned to a new school this year where she cheerleads and is on the running team while being the youngest political pundit we know (she smuggled political mail out of the house during the campaign to take to school to prove to all her friends that they were politically ignorant if they weren’t supporting the right candidate). Isabel (8) is the athlete of the family, excelling in [fill in the blank] sport. She’s decided to focus her time on year-round swimming and gymnastics. We’re already traveling all over the place to meets for both sports, where we drive and wait for hours to watch her compete for an aggregate total of 5 minutes. I wish the bleachers were more comfortable. Michael, who turns 6 in March, is a Lego master, doing sets labeled for kids twice his age (but still hasn’t figured out how to tie his shoes). He’ll be back in soccer this spring after losing interest in playing ice hockey (for now), and who knows what after that. He’s a bruiser who is all about “boy” stuff and is (according to him) an Olympic-level everything (swimmer, skier, soccer and hockey player, and whatever else). While not Olympic-level quite yet, all three kids have taken full advantage of our place in Killington and are becoming great skiers.

Our annual Christmas card is in the mail, but in case you don’t get a hard copy, below is an electronic version.

Christmas is such a special time of year because we’re so instantly reminded of the abundant blessings that surround us – chief among them Christ in our lives, but also the blessing of family and friends who we’re able to share our triumphs and struggles with. We’re grateful for you.

May God bless you and your family with a joyful holiday and a prosperous, healthy year ahead.

-JMF.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Between work, new opportunities, travel, and some play, the Fredericks have had a whirlwind of a 2015. It’s hard to believe Christmas is 4 days away (not to mention the lack of winter weather).

This year, Amy signed on as senior advisor to our friend Carly Fiorina’s presidential campaign, and I jumped full bore into the brewery business (opening spring 2016!) — all the while both of us maintained our other day jobs. The kids — Grace (9), Isabel (7), and Michael (4) — have kept super busy with sports (gymnastics/soccer/t-ball/swim team/skiing/sailing lessons) and other activities. As you may know, I considered jumping back into elective politics this year, but we have trouble keeping up with the kids now, much less if I had to be campaigning and doing all the things that other world requires. Staying out was the best decision for now.

Besides, we have beer to look forward to! Brew Republic will be located here in Woodbridge at Stonebridge in Potomac Town Center. Architect’s drawings/plans are done; brewery equipment on the way; we’re about 85% capitalized with only a small number of investment units left to sell; and are working on hiring a general contractor for our build out. Spring will be here soon enough.

Both Carly and 60 Plus have kept Amy traveling quite a bit this year, but she still found time to do at least one triathlon and continues serving on her boards.

We love living on the lake, and took full advantage of that this year with a new (larger) pontoon boat. The whole family also finally got down to Colombia (South America), where my mom is from and a large part of that side of my family remains. And, of course, we got our fair share of family beach time.

This is a bit of a longer Christmas Card update than I usually do, but the bottom line: we are very blessed — for these things and so many more. Chief among those blessings is Christ’s birth and presence in our lives. We look forward to celebrating His birthday this year with a some wonderful friends in Killington, Vermont (pray for a Christmas snow miracle!).

And, we are we are grateful for the gift you have provided us in your friendship and for allowing us to share our life with you. May God bless you and your family with a joyful holiday and a prosperous, healthy year ahead.

-JMF.

P.S. In case you didn’t get a hard copy of our annual card, you can find an electronic copy below.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

This past Saturday, Amy and I returned from another fantastic sailing trip in the British Virgin Islands (see my Facebook page for photos). For me the week wasn’t long enough, but for Amy, it was probably too long. Of course, the inverse seems to apply to our frequent visits to New York City (Amy can’t get enough and with me, well, let’s just say I’d rather be sailing).

That whole cliché that kids grow up fast, as it turns out, is pretty darn on the mark. It wasn’t that long ago that Amy and I were without children, and now Grace is 8; Isabel is 6; and Michael turns 4 in March. Between the three of them, we are involved with tennis, gymnastics, soccer, skiing, swimming, girl scouts, and sewing for our aspiring fashion designer (Grace) — and that’s just the kid’s activities. Amy took up triathlons this year and I’m close to getting my private pilot’s certificate.

Amy continues to lead 60 Plus while serving on the ACU, NFWL, and MPOA boards, while I continue my sabbatical from politics now having become a serial entrepreneur of sorts. Our newest venture — probably the coolest and a definite new area for us — a craft brewery to open in mid-2015.

Many of you should have received a hard-copy of our annual Christmas card in your postal service mailbox earlier this week, but in case you didn’t, you can find an electronic copy of the 2014 edition below.

This Christmas, as we again reflect on the past year and the incredible blessing that His birth is on our lives, we are grateful for the gift you all have provided us in your friendship and for allowing us to share our life with you.

May God bless you with a joyful holiday season and a prosperous, healthy year ahead.

-JMF

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

What a year… Amy and I celebrated 12 years of marriage; Grace turned 7; Isabel turned 5; and Michael, well, he turns 3 in March but you wouldn’t know that by looking at him. On his occasional doctor visits, he continues to rank at or near the 100th percentile for kids his age. I hope he does that well in school when the time comes! Yet, he’ll probably need to master going on the potty first, which will be good since he’ll stop trying to change his own diapers. It’ll be nice not to have to buy diapers anymore (or all the cleaning supplies needed for the aftermaths of his self-changing attempts).

The girls continue to excel in school and have made big strides this year in swimming, skiing (snow), tennis, and living out of a suitcase (see photos of our travels on my Facebook page). Now only if they can ride their bikes without training wheels. Soon — I’m determined.

With the loss of Amy’s dad, the year was a bit more challenging for us (especially Amy), but Pat’s passing brought folks together, old and new, that have been a big blessing to our family.

And, this Christmas, as we again reflect on the past year and the incredible blessing that His birth is on our lives, we are grateful for the gift you have provided us in your friendship and for allowing us to share our lives with you.

May God bless you with a joyful holiday season and a prosperous, healthy year ahead.

-JMF

P.S. In case you didn’t get a hard copy of our annual card, you can find an electronic copy below.